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  Windows .NET Server Beta 3
An evolutionary step toward .NET with an eye toward connectivity
Compared to the Whistler client releases, which became known as Windows XP back in February, the Whistler Server beta has been relatively quiet for a long time. Whistler Server hit Beta 2 in late March alongside Windows XP, when Microsoft noted that the two product lines would then follow different development paths. In late April, Microsoft announced that the Whistler Server products would be marketed as Windows 2002 Server, though Group Vice President Jim Allchin remarked at the time that, "the fat lady hasn't sung yet." And he was right: After much debate, the company finally decided to rename the product Windows .NET Server, and Bill Gates made the announcement during his Tech Ed keynote in late June.

The oft-delayed Beta 3 release was originally expected when Windows XP hit RC1. Then with RC2. Then with XP's RTM. None of these dates were met, and November 1 became the target date. Finally, I caught word that "mid-November" was a more likely timeframe, and Microsoft corroborated this with an informational packet that spelled out the new schedule. I was eager to speak with the company about Server after such a long period of silence.

So this overview of the Beta 3 release was written on recent pre-Beta 3 code that won't be made available to testers, and based on conversations I've had with Windows .NET Server Solutions Group Product Manager Andy Ma. I was told that the Beta 3 release will be announced the week of COMDEX (November 10-14, 2001) and that I can publish information about Beta 3 beginning November 15; you're reading that now. I hope to have more information when I've been able to spend some time with Beta 3, but in the meantime, here's what I know about this previously secretive release.

Meet the Family
 Incidentally, the new product naming wasn't chosen randomly. Because this release will include the .NET framework as well as full support for XML Web services, the company felt that it was the right time to move to the .NET naming scheme. Even still, Windows .NET Server isn't a new product, but rather an evolutionary improvement over the Windows 2000 products that preceded it. Various product editions have been tweaked and renamed, and a new member of the family is coming onboard.

You'll recall that the Windows 2000 Server family consisted of Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. Each product was designed to meet the needs of specific customers, from the small office all the way up to the most demanding data centers. With Windows .NET Server, these products have been upgraded substantially, and a new single-purpose Web Server edition has been added. Here are the new family members along with comparisons to the 2000-era products they replace. Unless otherwise noted, all of these products are 32-bit only.

Windows .NET Web Server
Windows .NET Web Server is the new product, which Microsoft executive Brian Valentine hinted at last April when he mentioned a possible "Web Blade" version of Whistler Server. It supports up to two processors and 2 GB of RAM only. Windows .NET Web Server is built specifically for low-cost Web serving and hosting only.

Windows .NET Standard Server
Windows .NET Standard Server replaces Windows 2000 Server. This version features support for up to two processors and 4 GB of RAM. Like its predecessor, Windows .NET Standard Server is designed for small and medium-sized businesses with basic file, print, and collaboration needs.

Windows .NET Enterprise Server (also in 64-bit Edition)
This product version replaces Windows 2000 Advanced Server and offers support for up to 8 processors (up from 4 in Advanced Server), 32 GB of RAM, and 4-node clusters. A 64-bit version is also available for Intel Itanium systems. This versions supports 64 GB of RAM.

Windows .NET Datacenter Server (also in 64-bit Edition)
For the most demanding scenarios, Microsoft is offering Windows .NET Datacenter Server, which replaces Windows 2000 Datacenter Server. This product, which is available in 32-bit and 64-bit variants, supports 64 GB of RAM (128 GB of RAM in the 64-bit version), up to 32 processors, and 8-node clusters (up from 4 in Windows 2000 Datacenter Server).

On the Road to Whistler Server: Beta 1 and Beta 2
 Whistler Server Beta 1 was released October 31, 2000, over a year ago, and offered only minor changes when compared to Windows 2000 Server. In March 2001, the company released Beta 2, which included an optional XP-like Luna user interface, and some other minor feature changes. With Beta 3, more incremental changes are on tap. In this section, I'd like to focus on the features that were added to Server pre-Beta 3, so we can see how this product has evolved over time.

Whistler Server Beta 1: Incremental Improvements
Whistler Server Beta 1 offered improvements in three key areas:

Deployment - Active Directory (AD) deployments were made to be faster and more flexible through a new Domain Controller Upgrade Wizard. This wizard allowed administrators to backup the AD database to removable media, such as a CD-ROM, and then use that backup to restore it to a new machine. This solved a problem where people were actually shipping fully configured DC machines to remote offices so that they could install a new DC. Now, only removable media needs to be shipped. The Advanced System Recovery (ASR) technology was added to NTBackup, giving Whistler Server (like XP) a snapshot capability for getting non-bootable machines back online. Third party developers can also build products on the new snapshot APIs as well.

Management - "Headless" management capabilities were added, along with out-of-band management functionality, so that remote servers could be examined and possibly fixed without requiring a physical visit.